Supernova explosions seed the galax withelements critical for lifeand service as tracersrevealing the fateof the universe to us . Yet for all their importance , they include some hero - type we barely realize . Perhaps the most confusing are those known as Type Iax ( pronounced one - ax ) , but the possible remnants of one of these events could furnish some major clues to see them , and it could be the first one ever found in the Milky Way .
Before we had any musical theme what get them , supernovas – powerful , lambent stellar explosions – were categorise found on their rife apparitional lines . The most useful of these for inquiry purposes turned out to be those known as Type Ia , which have the very convenient trait of always being roughly the same in their intrinsic luminance . By valuate how much igniter we see from a Type Ia supernova astronomers can get a good estimation of how far away the explosion , and therefore the coltsfoot in which it is housed , is from us .
This has function us well enough to reveal the fact the universe ’s expansion is accelerating , but between one - sixth and one - third of what at first looking like Ia supernovae are n’t . Among these are a chemical group sometimes called Type Iax supernovas , which have a spectrum brand by ionized silicon like ordinary Type Ias , but are considerably fainter .
While at the University of Amsterdam , study lead Ping Zhou observed a supernova remnant known as Sagittarius A East using the Chandra X - Ray telescope . Zhou thinks this is the first residue of an Iax supernova we have found in our galaxy .
Besides demand to be weed out for distance measurement , Iaxes require some explaining . average Ia supernovae are the products of white-hot dwarf mavin gaining too much mass . They are believed to regard either two white dwarfsmerging , or a white dwarfstealing materialfrom a nearby ordinary star . The favorite hypothesis for a Iax is that for some reason the thermonuclear reaction that drive a Ia explosion move through the star more slow , preventing acute brightness meridian and allow awhite dwarf fragmentto survive .
There is grounds from the Iax explosion we have witness that this head to less of sure chemical element being produce .
" While we ’ve bump Type Iax supernovae in other galax , we have n’t identified evidence for one in the Milky Way until now , " Zhou said in astatement . In apaperto be published in theAstrophysical Journal , Zhou and co - writer report the low amounts of element such as argon and calcium , and high concentrations of Mn and atomic number 28 make this a strong Iax candidate .
Just finding Iax supernova remnants in distant beetleweed is an achievement , elaborate written report is presently beyond us , so to study one in comparative proximity is an unbelievable chance . Sagittarius A East experience its name because it lies just next to Sagittarius A * , the black hole at the center of our galaxy . That ’s far from close , but at a mere26,000 light - yearsdistance , we stand to read much more compare to something100 million light - yearsaway . Moreover , since Sagittarius A * is one of the most studied objects outside the Solar System we have abundant range of Sagittarius A East , which is around 25 light - years encompassing and overlaps with A * as visualize from Earth .
Previous explanationsfor Sagittarius A East ’s strange nature include it being the remains of acore prostration supernovathat was press from being too close to the supermassive black pickle in Sagittarius A * . However , this would produce much more calcium and less manganese than has been observed , Zhou debate .
The ultimate proof would be finding a live white midget fragment but preventive from the astronomic midpoint would make one hard to spot .
